LinR

Thanks. Lin

Question; is that recipe 2 parts oxide to 1 part gerstly borate by volume or by weight? Lin

First job will be to raise the vent panel on the roof of the kiln shed. Almost did it last week but put it off. On the weekend we had a doozy of a storm with heavy rain, hail and 90 k/hr winds which would have blown the panel off despite the dozen or so bricks weighing it down. I guess I'll procrastinate a bit longer. Lin

Re raku firing. The first one I was involved with was in my teacher's basement. A 10 cu ft electric kiln with pulley that lifted the lid. The shelves were built up so that only the top layer was used. Once the pots reached the required temp the lid was lifted (I don't know if the kiln was turned off) and the pots were tonged into garbage cans through the basement window. How many rules does that break? It never happened again and the house didn't burn down (miracle) and no one was hurt (another miracle. Lin

A 2 mile walk weather permitting every day best recent time 33 min 33 sec. Not bad for a pair pushing 80 very hard. Good weather has also meant the garden getting a lot of attention. Good thing because there was a lot of neglect over the past couple of years. Wednesday 3 yards of garden soil will be dumped on the driveway. That should keep us out of trouble or kill us. Lin

I make oat bran porridge in a 4 cup measure which has had it markings worn off. 1/3 cup oat bran plus 1 cup water makes 1 serving. Micro on high for 1 minute, stir, micro for another minute, stir, micro for 15 seconds stir, micro for 10 sec. Sounds fussy but at 2 minutes 25 seconds it is pretty fast. This method was originally for quick oatmeal (not instant). The oatmeal boils up fast and if you try to do the whole time at one go you will have oatmeal all over your turntable. L

Ha! I'm also baking. Making enough to stash some cookies and cakes in the freezer for the heat of the summer. I also make my own sourdough bread but don't have a recipe. I've been doing it for so long that I more or less do it by feel. But I also use some white flour, some whole wheat, throw in some ground flax and some sunflower seeds and if I have anything else appropriate that goes in too. I make 2 loaves which last us a couple of weeks. The bread is usually baked by sometime in the evening at which time we each have a fresh slice with butter. It gets plastic bagged over night and is easy to slice in the morning. Then I use strips of plastic between each slice, double bag it and pop it into the freezer. Bought bread tastes really bland now. L